Dr Dims Delirious Drivel

Untitled

2012-01-15T19:03:00.001Z

Once upon a time
I sat in a park
Not alone but with friends
So never in the dark
We lamented the loss
Of our childhood times
How we’d read all those books
Full of phat rhymes
We drank tea with both hands
As the cold was so bitter
But back in those days
We were, oh, so much fitter
The tea was Chinese
Beijing was the place
It was Christmas time then
(A break from the race)
We returned from that continent
With tales of hardship true
But never did quite lament
The loss that was ‘you’
For deep in our hearts we knew that we’d climbed
As many of those steps
That the Buddhist monks chimed
Though more were to come
You never do see
What’s round the corner
Your own reality
And this time I sit
Doing the same again
No longer a child
Somehow, ‘belonging’ to men!
But men are contrary
Like rocks wrapped in cotton
Feelings so hidden
Makes their cores so very rotten!
So this is why
A boy meets a girl
Then lives happily ever after
Till the end of the world!?!?!?

Doctor Dim’s Christmas Message: Into the Unknown…and Beyond!

2011-12-17T22:34:00.000Z

Its that time of the year again when thoughts turn to friends, family and…well, aliens. Having just returned from a walk with the neighbour’s dog, staring up at the particularly clear night sky I was struck by the need to be communicating a message of desperation to our Universal neighbours. It seems like our planetary systems are grinding to a slow but steady halt yet we are unable to do much about it. One can only begin to then think that if we cannot solve our many ‘issues’ alone – as a species – then we need to turn to someone else for help. Since the Age of Reason began people turned towards nature to gain inspiration for their latest Scientific revelation. However, perhaps now we have exhausted that fine option and, if we are to undo the mess we have gotten ourselves into, then we need to find somewhere else to look for those ‘eureka’ moments. Whether or not we do actually have ‘secret’ alien technology already amongst us is debatable but what is certain is that we are currently spending a lot of time, money and effort looking for life outside of our own earthly sphere. My own contention is that, as noble as this pursuit may be from scientific perspective, what we actually should be doing is asking for help? Of course, we tend to think of ourselves – at least those testosterone fuelled ‘leaders’ do – as being the centre of our own Universe. Sad but true. We do not like to be told that we have screwed everything up and that The End is Nigh. Tough doggy do. We are running out of people to blame now. First it was the Capitalists who’d got things wrong. Then it was the bankers who’d somehow led us down a blind alley. Currently we are looking at each other – witness the current French/UK spat (plus endless others around the world) – and attempting to incriminate the ‘other side’ as we retreat, pull up our national draw bridges and somehow do a u-turn on the very central thesis of our ‘progressive’ globalisation agenda. For me that whole ‘blame game’ is simply a waste of time and energy. It is an extremely destructive force amongst humanity. Is it time to admit that we cannot ‘run’ this world ourselves perhaps; that we need some ‘outside’ help? It shouldn’t be too difficult to construct a ‘probe’ of some description, be it an energy particle beam or a physical spaceship, to jettison a request for help to the depths of the Universe. We seem to think we have found other Earth-like planets now. Could we not place a message in a bottle, so to speak, and say we’re struggling to get things right on our own globe? Maybe our message would go unheeded: ‘why should we help them when they can’t even help themselves?’ our local alien cousins may feel. Undoubtedly we are at a real crossroads now, many people are realising this yet even more are unprepared to do much about it. Perhaps time has simply run out for our species and this planet in general. The party never lasts forever after all. Meanwhile I’ll be the ‘whacky’ one, sitting on the dark hillside shining lights up at the stars in the vein hope that a passing spaceship catches a glimpse of my laser beam and comes a little closer to investigate…If I do make contact then I won’t be looking to blame anyone at all, I can promise you that. What I will be doing though is pleading with the visitors to help us sort our mess out, to get our home in order. That is assuming that the aliens have their own home in order. Or perhaps chaos is just the natural state of the Universe? Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. DD.

20th Century Cooperative Techniques

2011-12-11T01:16:00.002Z

Durban Turban

2011-12-10T17:04:00.003Z

So, there's this bigga wigga meetin in a d horn o africa
They no know what they doin so we all a comin after y
We got a message or two to help y do what y do
First
Be cool, forget your blinkers - that rationality belongs to d thinkers
Second
Feel, be real - phone up y brethren and kick up some stinkers
Third
Have fun - OK it all be serious but don't forget t visit d drinkers!
Fourth
Come together - separation belongs in the past: wanna be d last?
Fifth
Chill - forget d stress for it make y ill.

And wiv regard to d blame game.
India, China, U$ - who cares? Forget the fixed glaze stare!
U human? So we. So dem. We all in dis togever. Forver and ever..?

Finally, a simples message for those wiv no time.
Clean up d grime. Your shit. Use wit!

Peace Out.

DD.

Going Places...

2011-09-07T16:12:00.004+01:00

leaves tumble upon the wind

a microcosm of life inside

people chat then the kerfuffle rescinds

I put hands to face and hide

I'd rather not see their faces

preoccupied as if in a dream

shuffling about, Going Places

it went, in Stoke it seems

a lady comes with chips and burger

"it's not for me", I smile

she apologises, I say 'ney bother'

then run the extra mile

for Stoke's a place where I were born

my Mother's son am I

and though I've been around the world

maybe it's here I will die

though I hate to end on an unhappy note

all I see on a grey day is shame

while all the Potters skulk around

what's left? The Beautiful Game!

Set The House Ablaze

2011-09-06T23:42:00.001+01:00

I was in the pub last night
A mutual friend of ours said
He'd seen you in the uniform
Yeah the leather belt looks manly
The black boots butch
But oh what a bastard to get off

Promises, promises
They offer real solutions
But hatred has never won for long

You was so open minded
But by someone blinded
And now your sign says closed.

Promises, promises
They offer real solutions
But hatred has never won for long

I think we've lost our perception -
I think we've lost sight of the goals we should
be working for
I think we've lost our reason
We stumble blindly and that vision must be restored!

I wish that there was something
I could do about it
I wish that there was some way
I could try to fight it
Scream and shout it -

But something you said set the house ablaze!

It is called indoctrination
And it happens on all levels
But it has nothing to do with equality
It has nothing to do with democracy
And though it professes to
It has nothing to do with humanity
It is cold, hard and mechanical.

(c) Paul Weller, 1980.

shh...

2011-08-06T23:03:00.004+01:00

down on d st.s
der b a r!@t
just wen w taught
it was gonna be

QUIET!

d ppl dem angry
dey ad nuff
it all gone up
in a puff

we don mean gay
we don mean weed
we mean wot we mean
dey sewed d seed

baby lon creamed
like a bad bad pie
bobby he took 1
str8 in d eye

flashin lites scream
but der's are brighter
now 4get d battle
it'll b an all-nighter

there b more dan 1 way
to force d biz
don get ur brain
mashed up in d tiz

t a k e u r t i m e
work out d rules
find a rhyme
down all tools.

disestablishmentarianism

2011-07-17T22:13:00.002+01:00

its an ism schism
when you get rid of em
they thought they were hidden
so better ridden
we all knew how it operated
but now its evaporated
cuz no one cooperated
well now they're annihilated
takes one bad drop
to spoil the crop
re-establish the core
like, who started this war?
just a quest for power
hour after hour
old replaces the new

phew...

give em their dues
its all in the news
some sat on their pews
whilst other's sought loos
the likes of you and me
can always go see
the animals in the zoo
we're watching you too!

so life goes in cycles
as mother nature knows
that's how it works
how everything grows
so in a very British way
we give birth to a new day?
some will shout 'hey!'
others will say:

"like, what ever changes
its all gone before
scandals shake foundations
which are rotten to the core
the castles come tumbling",
the old ladies say,
"best be rid of them
the old fashioned way"

some go to the towers
others resign
to their fate of the faithful
I take what's mine
stale white toast
with sunflower marge
and just make the most
of the scum that's in charge.

mixin' it up big stylee

2011-07-12T09:31:00.001+01:00

its been a long time
I shouldn't have left you
without a hope street
to get to... ;)

Havin it (a mare)

2011-05-28T10:31:00.002+01:00

here we go here we go
getting ready for d show
pop up blockers
blacklists galore
tryin to dis
the system whore

is there a way
to beat The Man
should we even care?
should we give a damn?

all's we need is a seed or 2
like me and thee and them makes you
together to beat
d system sh*t
all in all
we can do it! ;)

T-RUS-T !!!

2011-05-23T17:34:00.002+01:00

d man he no trust no one
so why should we trust d man
he drive around in hearses
doin as much damage as he can

there be so many loop-holes in d law
so they can do as they plz
we seen it all b4
generations gettin down on their knees

it be time to stand up
and forget your woes
throw in your shoes
and don your bright clothes

don't wanna be seen?
then dress in green!
don't wann be had
well, d man he BAD!

me no trust you
you know trust me
dats wha' they want
in the land of 'the free'

look over your shoulder
it could be a bomb
pull up your pull-over
your identity's gone

the man no know
wha' to do next
so make up d rules
just like herman hess

the fascist dictatorship
couldn't care less
long as they have the power
they no care about mess

if you try to dissent
they lock you up
it no matter who you are
you're a sitting duck

you can quack all you like
and there's plenty of them
to send you round the bend
again and again

for human rights
mean nothing to 'the insane'
we're all caught up
in a maddening game

I want the power
you want it all
so we'll fight till final hour
that's all.

The Perils of Previous Products

2011-04-18T19:19:00.008+01:00

Its a beautiful day and the scenery passes me by; the bountiful Earth being unforthcoming in her resplendent resurgence. However, alas, those who place profit afore care cannot see the woods for the dollar/euro/pound as they plunder her sadly rendering the place unsuitable for all life. The Black Stuff though still fetches a premium as we humans (should that be you?) value the 'wrong' things in life: love, cherish and behold the glory! :-)

That said, its not always the Black Stuff that causes us to plunder, name any commodity with a value placed upon it by Unseen Faces sitting in their urban sanctuaries, devoid of 'attachment' to the Living Planet. A false hope? Maybe, who can say. One thing is for sure the chasm between those honoured with creating our joint - our children's - futures and those who hold views considered 'fringe' today must be bridged...

'austerity' measures: the transition of capital?

2011-03-25T19:09:00.004Z

There seems to be a lot of fuss about the introduction of so-called "austerity measures" around Europe. We seem to want more money all the time, have less taken away from us in taxes, etc. and generally desire more of the stuff to facilitate our happiness. Understandably, those at the bottom of the economic 'pile' who'll perhaps feel the impact more than most could be pretty miffed at the prospect of having even less of the paper/metal stuff. However, if we are shrewd about this surely we can view it as an indicator that money is not the be all and end all; that mutual support, sharing, redistribution, economies independant of centralised socio-economic institutions, etc. can be nurtured which lessen the impact of these "austerity measures". OK, its a change but if people are able to look at the measures in the right light then they may prove to be the undoing of the capitalist system which has continually further eroded the powers of the 'down-trodden' for centuries? Maybe, just maybe those who truly fear the "austerity measures" should be turning to those 'others' who have had to 'make do' with (materially) 'less' for some time now. In other words, there are lessons to be learned in even the most difficult of circumstances and certainly the lessons we may be able to currently learn could be of benefit to all of us as, apparently, the capitalist systems implode. There are alternatives!

Free

2011-03-24T21:28:00.002Z

Of Generals

2011-02-21T21:50:00.002Z

When the general is weak
And lacking in severity,
When his orders
Are not clear,
When neither officers nor men [sic]
Have fixed rules
And troops are slovenly,
The outcome is
Chaos.

Sun-tzu, The Art of War.

Double Six

2011-02-11T17:59:00.002Z

Double Six
No party trix
Just stones and stix
Which make it fix

No names for US
Just on the bus
In God We Trust
The power our lust

Double Six
Get rid the hicks
Time makes cliques
That fall to bits.

Tory! Tory! Tory! An Island Under Siege.

2011-02-06T15:58:00.000Z

It is with great sadness and some reluctance that I post this brief communiqué concerning the current state of the country formerly known as the United Kingdom. For, it seems to me, our beleaguered state is under attack in what should ideally be known as the Third World War from unseen forces flying the flag of neo-liberalism (in its grandest sense). On my travels and upon much cogitation I can only conclude that the current Governmental policies are failing the ‘average’ (if there is such a thing) citizen of this once great nation state.

I begin my analysis through a consideration of what is community? To me community comprises of institutions, individuals and families – perhaps businesses also feature here somewhere? However, concerning the former we can see that all manner of institutions have had their foundations eroded through a systematic denial of their very fabric, notably by the resulting actions of the prevailing socio-political climate. That is, places of worship (churches, chapels, mosques, etc.) have been left to fend for themselves and have, as a result, witnessed slowly declining relevance to the prevailing winds of change besetting our nation. Amenities are a further case-in-point: shops, public houses and now even libraries are being closed under the banner of not being ‘economically viable’. It is time that their true worth to society be recognised in more than economic terms. Ultimately this has left individuals and families to fend for themselves – the eventual outcome of current neo-liberalism where the ‘free market’ takes care of us all through mysterious forces that gamble with our community cohesion.

The British class system has itself also been attacked by neo-liberal attitudes. The ‘under’ class, the ‘working’ class and even the ‘upper’ class have been usurped through a very clever process of rationalistation into a ‘middle’ class. This quite obviously creates the conditions for a more independent modus operandi on the part of any state intervention deemed necessary to maintain the very societal fabric which we came to love, sometimes abhor, but which worked. This is a contentious statement, no doubt, for it has become a liberal doctrine to almost wish to witness the demise of an old class system which was seen to discriminate and segregate. However, through the rationalisation of class we have also witnessed that citizens are no longer willing or able to maintain their ‘position’ in a well-balanced society. So, instead, we find that as a country we need to employ people from overseas to carry out the tasks that we ourselves, with our ‘middle’ class values, deem to be inappropriate?

So, what is the cause of these apparent dysfunctions within British society? Upon a cursory examination it seems to me that central Government policy has for some time been leading us down the experimental path of a grand neo-liberal vision begun in the time of Regan and Thatcher which is now beginning to show signs of apparent dysfunction. It was a noble experiment which initially led to an increase in wealth for the new ‘middle’ class, further bolstering their hold and position upon the innate power-base of its promulgation. Sadly, there is now an ever widening division in terms of economic ability amongst the UK populace as the economic base becomes ever more focused upon a congealed mass of ‘citizens’ willing to tow the party line for those that gave them this new found ‘empowerment’. Unfortunately though this ‘empowerment’ is a charade constructed by the new elite of British life: the bankers, the politicians, the business leaders, etc. who are the nouveaux elite within our shores (on occasions not even within these confines).

The solution, then, is to look beyond the spin of the well-paid Public Relations consultants who feed the mass media their nougats of sound bites and examine the true reality of the state of this once wonderful nation now sadly at the mercy of this noveaux elite and their puppet ‘middle’ class. We should move away from centralised political/socio-economic systems towards more distributed notions of what it takes to form cohesive societies. Banning colours, closing libraries, not lowering interest rates all create the conditions for an increasingly disenfranchised and demoralised ‘average’ citizen. And there is no telling what these ‘fringe’ members of society could achieve were they to self-organise to really assert their greatest power upon the nouveaux elite and the puppet ‘middle’ class. Perhaps this is what has already been happening in places like Tunisia and Egypt? Certainly the politicians of the day realise the error of their ways if their speeches and declarations are to be believed yet they are only a part of the problem. We all need to work together as a nation state should to overcome the nefarious dysfunctional aspects of neo-liberalism. We do not need to completely overturn it as such but must find more reasonable ways to put it to use which would be more concomitant with the national interest.

To sum: be wary of what you read and hear. Dissect the edicts of our ‘leaders’ as proliferated by the mass media. Use your voice to be heard in the avenues of power which our ‘leaders’ still have a responsibility to adhere to. All before it is too late and we find ourselves living in a well-conceived and, with respect, brilliantly executed plan – hatched some time ago now – to concentrate ‘power’ in the hands of a few and away from us ‘normal’ people who really see what is happening on the high streets up and down our green and pleasant land…

Mom Life

2011-01-29T01:56:00.001Z

Little Boxes

2010-12-30T22:03:00.000Z

Dr Dims (Early) Christmas Message

2010-12-23T19:33:00.002Z

Its been a funny old year (annus whatsitmajigus) where a few home truths about failures in our present human systems (and their associated more 'natural' systems) struck a (lost) chord with the majority of us. Its not that all of us were "blind to the ways of mankind [sic]". Indeed a 'minority' of us have been talking about such catastrophes for some time now. Perhaps notable amongst the ultimate realisation of such failures were the protests in Seattle (1999?), like, some time ago. However, due to the inevitable momentum acheived in a well-established system - we have, to varying degrees, our personal capital (in the greatest sense of the word, see Bourdieu for instance) invested in these failing ways of going about life (but not as we know it, Jim) - we all carried on regardless. That said, others have been experimenting with 'alternatives' to this phenomena we call human experience. Perhaps its time now (at last) to turn our greater awareness to these people who for decades have been ostracised by 'mainstream society'; a group of people who have, ultimately, been misleading us all along an **unsustainable** path in the hope that their own system(s) will somehow 'self-right'. Well, it looks like that ain't gonna work dudes. What we now need is quite a 'radical' intervention to prevent the ultimate catasrophe of the 'downsizing' of our species (assuming this is a desired outcome). The whole term "radical" is part of the lingo of those who do not wish to see this cahnge though. We therefore require a wider realisation which is tolerant to 'alternative' ways of life; that sees them for what they truly are: experiments (social or otherwise) to help us all in the long run. Be it off-gridders, communities, anarchists or anyone of a socio-political persuation running contra to the dominant schools of thought. Give everyone a chance to do what they want to in a world which needs variety in order to create a more just, humane and ultimately **sustainable** human modus operandi. Nuclear war looms in Korea (perahps), economic migrants are dying as they cross perilous waters to reach the 'promised land' and still some nation states impose their own philosophies on others across the globe. Well, it ain't working. Wake up and smell the fresh air of hope. For without hope borne of a general awareness of current System Malfunctions are entire race could come to a, some may argue, fitting end. But finding hope is, indeed, possible if we increase our tolerance of others and lower our thresholds of imposition. Sure, be yourself but respect the 'others'. It could be those 'others' who hold the answers we are all striving for. Peace.

Bot War 3! ;-)

2010-12-03T17:20:00.000Z

Luv & Lite (Preview)

2010-11-20T11:23:00.001Z

We Don't Need Another Hero. (c) Britten & Lyle 1985.

2010-11-12T19:36:00.000Z

OUT OF THE RUINS
OUT FROM THE WRECKAGE
CAN`T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE THIS TIME
WE ARE THE CHILDREN
THE LAST GENERATION
WE ARE THE ONES THEY LEFT BEHIND
AND I WONDER WHEN WE ARE EVER GONNA CHANGE
LIVING UNDER THE FEAR, TILL NOTHING ELSE REMAINS

WE DON`T NEED ANOTHER HERO
WE DON`T NEED TO KNOW THE WAY HOME
ALL WE WANT IS LIFE BEYOND
THUNDERDOME

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING
WE CAN RELY ON
THERE`S GOTTA BE SOMETHING BETTER OUT THERE
LOVE AND COMPASSION
THEIR DAY IS COMING
ALL ELSE ARE CASTLES BUILT IN THE AIR
AND I WONDER WHEN WE ARE EVER GONNA CHANGE
LIVING UNDER THE FEAR TILL NOTHING ELSE REMAINS

ALL THE CHILDREN SAY
WE DON`T NEED ANOTHER HERO
WE DON`T NEED TO KNOW THE WAY HOME
ALL WE WANT IS LIFE BEYOND
THUNDERDOME

SO WHAT DO WE DO WITH OUR LIVES
WE LEAVE ONLY A MARK
WILL OUR STORY SHINE LIKE A LIGHT
OR END IN THE DARK
GIVE IT ALL OR NOTHING

WE DON`T NEED ANOTHER HERO
WE DON`T NEED TO KNOW THE WAY HOME
ALL WE WANT IS LIFE BEYOND
THUNDERDOME

say v y

2010-11-10T00:21:00.003Z

batons, beats and breaks...

2010-11-09T22:35:00.002Z

bak in d day
when we woz skankin
everyone else
was bizee bankin
we got it rite
they got it wrong
we partied all night
just beat, no song

d sun came up
we look roun
everyone
still gettin down
luv in der eye
peace in d air
look up to d sky
rainbos all where

we all took off
b4 roz came
took to d road
2 do it again
that woz us
this is u
passin d baton
on2 nu crew...

Make the Most of It.

2010-10-31T05:38:00.004Z

we do each other's bidding
when some things are better ridding
like eating apple pie
in an awful smelling pig stye
like, I give you ten bucks
but you couldn't give a f***
cuz all you care about's ambition
as that's your ammunition
so you capitalise upon my loss
as you climb to be the boss
you sucker in the crowd
I want to scream out loud
I feed on all your bulls***
forgetting something's wrong with it
cuz everything goes in circles
like caravans and vehicles
being towed to God know's where
till we climb the pearly stair
step back and take a look
have a look in my big book
it was the world that you shook
it serves to make me puke

so in town I watch the pigeons
all so busy digging
scratching for a meal
while the pigs all start to squeal
in the skies I see a plane
and wish to leave again
take me up above and soar
looking down upon the poor
cuz up there I am the king
and I always wish to sing
about Times when things are good
like better Ways understood
one can realise its trite
all this fighting shite
but sustaining economies
building up armies
to do unknown biddings
like states that are forbidding
passing through security
without any assurity

so I just write my verse
till my final ride in a hurse
no doubt you'll never learn
although that is what I yearn
just chill, smile and laugh
cuz your propogandas naff.

dis

2010-09-20T18:58:00.003+01:00

the ppl @ the bottom
have got something rotten
that makes them want to squeal
they shout "we got a raw deal"!
we all ask "what's up?"
the dictats suck
the asses of whores
who just want more
the rubber duck
sings out a f***
we toke on a butt
all stuck in a rut
cuz the system is shite
we stay up all night
wondering how
they slaughtered the cow
when the cash dried up
we're all on a drip
its not so hip
to be told you're sh*t
cuz I am you
the one that got thru
all the mayhem & strife
just to create a life
but they pass the buck
the economies bust
the metal's rust
as the guns block up
and the ammo is money
which would be funny
'cept the ppl who're runnin'
don't know their gunnin'
all runnin' round
making a sound
that sounds like sheep
as all the horns peep
in dissent and mayhem
that target the grey men
caught up in lives
and their mysterious lies
just to feather their own nest
while the country's a mess
thrown in the furness
to smelt the fairness
you can fight and scream
write to the Queen
but where does it get y'
when they're gonna forget y'
an inscription in stone
left without a home
just a hole in the ground
no longer making a sound
y' know, they end up there too
where there's nuffin t do
but ponder your fate
all the years of hate
when you thought y knew best
never settling for less
but it all went a mess
like rudolph hess
so think of it now
someplace quiet, somehow
don't be immoral
go to balmoral
ponder your plight
take that costly flight
but never lose sight
cuz I know that you might
we walk in the night
all out of sight
till justice is served
and you've ran out of nerve
cuz the experiment's rank
like robbing a bank
but the bank's all robbed us
you're on the wrong bus
go find your karma
do to us less harm 'n'
make a better system
that's it
I dissed 'em.

jabberwocky

2010-09-09T22:12:00.000+01:00

$$$

2010-08-30T07:10:00.004+01:00

Forces

2010-08-19T01:20:00.004+01:00

forces go to war
I wonder what that's for?
taken from the poor
to lie dead on the floor

forces do 'their' biddin'
just to get the quids in
better get the lids in
to keep their faces hidden

forces love the Queen
living out a dream
heard of but unseen
she knows what I mean

forces are like you
doing what you do
sending kids to school
abiding by the rules

forces, men and women
are aware of all their sinning
for wars are not for winning
just population thinning

forces are mere mortals
a nation's sons and daughters
sending lambs to slaughter
for oil, blood and water

forces have no end
as humans find a friend
stretch out a hand to lend
find painless ways to fend

forces fight together
no matter what the weather
they tumble like a feather
trapped in boots of leather

forces know the score
they've seen it all before
when you batter down a door
you expect nothing more

forces keep a-fightin'
all through the night 'n'
when statesmen are slightin'
better get your sights in

forces live a life
where children, husband, wife
can be cut down by the scythe
as He roams where trouble's rife

forces though are allies
seeing through the old lies
looking up to the skies
afore their spirits arise

forces must be reckoned with
for there's a reason that we give
our thoughts are theirs when we live
a tricky act to keep tears hid

forces are you and I
till the day we die
so you better try
but always, always question why!

Dystopia 1.2

2010-08-16T22:50:00.000+01:00

And so, after a time, after so much partying – stoking the fires of our inner revolution – we all came to realise (more through a process of osmosis than calculated reason) - that we needed to begin to connect our disparate communities by denouncing our secret societies as entrenched tokens of mass paranoia and instead open up to what we began to call the Common. We liked the idea of being Commoners, not communists mind you, simply people devoted to finding common ground between us in a spirit of understanding and consensus. This was how we, The Trogs, were born. We were to be ambassadors of our communities, spreading our own memes to re-infect the blood of the now tainted larger system as antibodies may fight off an attack from ‘foreign’ viral infections in a biological system. We were thus loaded with folk songs, scripts and Ways. Our Ways were though sacrosanct; we had to judiciously choose the means of their transmission or else The Authorities would no doubt soon latch on to their inner meanings and attempt to mimic them for their own nefarious means. As such, some saw us as being the essential final link in the crystallisation of the Nouvelle Ascension. But we knew better than to put ourselves on pedestals created through ill-founded beliefs in fairytales based upon superfluous systems of prior humankind. All of their beliefs, desires and intentions to date had failed us all. There seemed absolutely no point in rekindling their Old Ways as a means of honouring our New Ways. This was the most important bifurcation in human history, we all realised this. The time when we would either finally realise that we could no longer sustain the Old Ways or the time when our species would eventually peter out and a new species would become the most dominant upon our world. This, quite simply, is the fundamental reason for us being ostracised by the wider society. It no doubt created all manner of difficulties for us but, strangely enough, we knew that the inner core of The Establishment – as opposed to The Authorities – ‘sympathised’ with our worldview. We understood how there were many circles within circles within circles and that the true revolutionaries were those at the heart of storm which was the approaching multi-faceted disasters. We could not explain this phenomenon but, looking back through History, it became apparent that the people who shaped the course of the future development of society were not the hoi polloi but this inner circle of ‘radicals’ who won the favor of the most powerful of the intelligentsia through their astute analysis of current predicaments combined with their devotion – and sense of ‘duty’ (whether misplaced or not) – to see the job done. This is certainly where our sense of belief was fundamental to our raison d’être and this proved to be the trickiest element of our motivation. Without the fundamental belief in ourselves ultimately, in our abilities as citizens – of our cliques, of our communities, of our planets – then all of our future actions would be undermined like a great biblical edifice built on the shifting sands of some Persian desert never to be found for a million years hence.

And so we did what we did best. We walked the Earth, spreading our memes as we went. Some of us, of course, took refuge in a selection of the Old Ways to transmit our messages but most of us realised the increasing futility of such actions. In an exponentially increasing population the more of us that vied for attention through the accepted mass communication means of expression then the more of us who became simple fodder for The Authorities games of subjugation, invasion of privacy and promulgation of consumerist ‘lifestyles’. So, as told, we took to The Streets, locked down our Ariels and entered the night with our eyes on fire!

Dystopia 1.1

2010-08-08T12:36:00.001+01:00

In the main the problem was well understood. The economic system had collapsed under its own weight. Too much had been invested in conjecture forcing the ultimate sacrifice to become reality. Somewhere in the noosphere of fabricated realities the dons of dosh had decided enough was enough and, low and behold, decided to pull the plug on their evil creation. Unfortunately this left many a Normal without even a penny to their name. The cities became places of dirt and despair with basic animal instincts taking the place of any semblance of ‘civilised’ life. Of course, The Wars didn’t help as the States sapped all home resources through the fighting of dodgy ideologies in far away lands. Some of the herd felt it was simply a distraction strategy, to keep those of us who were easily fooled in the dark with respect to the continued pillage of our home countries. As ever, it was us on the home front who felt the pinch of this continued aspiration to expand beyond our own shores. So, The Wars were sapping our life energies overseas (to say nothing of our young men and women) and the economic failings and associated problems were creating havoc at home. It was apparent to all of us on ‘the outside’ that there was only one resolution to these problems: the collapse of everything we knew to be ‘the order’. Of course, for us, this wasn’t a problem. We didn’t like the order anyway. It was skewed for starters with more and more power being concentrated in the hands of the landowners while the peasants were left with nothing more than their brothers and sisters of medieval times. We did have some quality of life that those who ran the place, particularly in The City, certainly could not afford, in terms of time that is. We had our sense of community amongst other things; a whole different ethos which did not espouse having to continually outdo each other as we climbed the greasy pole. For us, there simply was no greasy pole. You did what you could in terms of earning the centralised currency but mostly, if you were really sharp-witted, you bartered and swapped within your locale.

Of course, this was all before the cities had imploded and taken the peripheral communities with them, eventually. Everyone had become too reliant upon the city ways of, particularly, exchange based upon centralised, hierarchical structures of dominance. We had forgotten, to some extent, how to recognise the more esoteric qualities of the experience of life. What it actually meant to be human: to experience sunlight reflecting in dew at dawn or the scent of hawthorn on a midsummer’s eve stroll. To have in mind goals of prosperity more akin to those of the creatures around us than the artificial constructions of a world over-reliant upon the cold reason of machines humming in secret isolation. And, perhaps, this was the pivotal turning point of The Dystopia: when human reason became ‘worth less’ than machine reason. The rationality of the dominant economic system, for instance, had forced all those Normals into tight little boxes of well-managed behaviour patterns. If they could not conform to the mores and values of this autonomic society then they were fed pscyho drugs which constrained their behaviour along the lines espoused by those high in the hierarchies. Everyone was happy as long as they had the latest gadget or the trendiest accoutrement and, on the outside at least, appeared to be ‘doing well’ in terms of achieving the projected materialistic status as required by the advertising moguls in particular. Of course, this level of acceptance of the status quo did nothing to quash the vision of those of us who did not accept the authorities’ ways, on the contrary it was all fuel to our fire as we saw the oncoming calamity that was to be eventually, we hoped, the undoing of The Dystopia. So we prepared, in secret. We did our homework. We re-learned The Old Ways but did not forget the new. We partied, rekindling the seeds of our genesis, forming our networks of rejuvenation in readiness for the arrival of The Dystopia. This was to be our time; a time when our ways became the most relevant to the survival of our species. A time when time itself would be reassessed and ‘progress’ re-evaluated based upon a strict rejection of the amassed current dogma.

Dystopia 1.0

2010-08-07T00:43:00.000+01:00

Death reigned supreme when all we wanted was some stability in the world. Come the insurrection it was generally impossible to receive a transmat anyhow, all of the r/x’s had gone haywire with the introduction of a virus of some unknown origin into the ether. It had gotten into everything like a huge EM pulse, destroying all in its path even the most impregnable of wet or softwares. It just reached the point though where we didn’t really care. It became possible to exist without the tex we found, to our surprise. Everywhere we went we left clues for each other that only our own cliques could understand, tiny objects strategically placed or coded graffiti indicating the state of the neighbourhood; whether you had to have a finger on your Pain Giver or an eye out in the shadows. Most of us never even saw the creep of the deathly viral diseases which were to be humanity’s downfall. Everything had turned viral. Memes infected our thoughts through established (and new) media outlets, our brains were turned to mush from the inside out. Novel manufactured biological species inhabited the physical world and had penetrated the food chain to such an extent that there was no choice but to subject your body to the rigors of their onslaught. Of course we knew what was occurring: The Dystopia had finally happened. Many a fiction head knew of the premise: technology, in the widest sense, had taken over. The whole system of social cohesion had stopped working, society was being torn apart at its very seams. The ‘authorities’ were not. The streets ran themselves or rather they tried as any semblance of State had long since gone underground, sitting this one out until we had all vanished or at least that’s what they thought.

I was a Trog, a walker. We lived in herds. People came, people went but we were able to keep a tightly-knit community of like-minded thinkers and do-ers all together as we grappled with the numerous injustices encountered en route. Understandably, since times were generally hard, we had to make do with whatever Fate had in store for us. And He was a mean bastard. I think though that this made us stronger, our identity sealed by a common sense of malice directed at our misfortunes which were not, after all, of our own making? So we just roamed, scavenged and made do with what we found on the road. We didn’t stick to the cities, they were long past their sell-by date. Just like the whole system that spawned them. Actually the cities were some of the longest held strongholds of the Normals but even they succumbed to The Dystopia eventually. We didn’t really have a goal as such but we did, kind of, feel it would be useful to search for the authorities. Burn them out. Not really revenge as such but more seeking some kind of social justice. We’d been fed on their brainwashing for so long that some of us, the less enlightened obviously, actually thought they could get us out of this mess. But most of us knew better and had been preparing for such eventualities. They tried to lock some of us up who seemed to know more than they did. Couldn’t be seen to be inferior and particularly to a bunch of younger out-of-towners like us. So, of course, a number of us went underground prior to The Reckoning. We re-surfaced as we heard of the turmoil. We knew we were ready. Ready for what we didn’t know but we had been training for all eventualities though none of us had quite predicted the extent of The Dystopia. The world as we knew it had simply ceased to exist.

A Tale of Five Towns (Round n Round)

2010-07-30T12:24:00.002+01:00

running round in circles
just to please the state
running round in circles
gets you full of hate
chasing tales till sunrise
looking for a job
wishing for a pay rise
but knowing the country's lost

running round in circles
just to please The Man
running round in circles
doing what you can
and all the time all the people know
they got what is mine
running round in circles
round and round more times

running round in circles
looking for a ghost
running round in circles
is what you do the most
they make up all the rules
as they go along
you can't do what you choose
except just write these songs

running round in circles
cuz circles are not square
running round in circles
existing on fresh air
the winters are the hardest
as nothing grows you know
running round in circles
its all a pitful show

running round in circles
I really don't see the cause
running round in circles
take time out to pause
running round in circles
there really is no point
running round in circles
lay back and smoke a kipper

farenheit 451?

2010-07-26T13:12:00.001+01:00

I'm currently actually thinking that the library looks more like a museum. With such a lack of access to electronic resources, for instance, it is lagging way behind, for example, academic libraries or even facilities available from private companies such as Google Books. I do believe there is a use for this archived material in terms of its historical relevance to illustrate, for example, the lineage of current media developments. However, I do not think that these physical remnants of previous centuries knowledge should these days be taking centre stage in a modern library. I am not attempting to recount actions akin to Farenheit 451 but simply raising the concern that the continued pursual of such physical media is tantamount to assigning public libraries to the recycle bin of the relatively new knowledge economies...

Another Heart Bypass

2010-07-24T17:44:00.000+01:00

England's Last Dream

2010-06-14T21:46:00.002+01:00

Engerland was dreaming
a long time ago
before days of plunder
before days of woe
she bore many a scar
from battles fought far
she reaped many a fruit
and took home their loot
now Engerland is tired
her guns have all been hired
her crosses thrown on fires
her fabric scorched by liars
but Engerland is resilient
albeit sometimes reluctant
to take on evil where it lurks
but she'll ne'er shirk
her responsibiliites God-given?
but we have to keep them hidden
like the knowledge is sacrosanct
way West, somewhere off the map
and Engerland was dreaming
where others were a-scheming
the neolibs were theiving
we haven't yet done our grieving.

peace day! :-)

2010-05-31T09:30:00.002+01:00

the old (new) world order
has all gone to pot
it started with a peace sign
it ended with a shot!

from palestine to afghanistan
and everywhere in-between
they're building up the barricades
that dodgy, imperialist machine

divisions drawn in sand
and shifted by the ocean
nothing ever goes as planned
no matter your devotion

so surrender to infinite blue sky
where thoughts just drift away
stop yourself and question why
we can't have a peaceful day

now as sun sets and blood is shed
search your soul or in your head
search your heart - what do you find?
love makes us tick, that's humankind.

peace

2010-05-11T17:45:00.003+01:00

to win victory,
to complete an objective,
but not to follow through,
is a disastorous
waste.

hence the saying
'the enlightened ruler
considers deeply;
the effective general
follows through.'

never move
except for gain;
never deploy
except for victory;
never fight
except in a crisis.

a ruler
must never
mobilise his [sic] men
out of anger;
a general
must never
engage battle
out of spite.

move
if there is gain;
halt
if there is no gain.

anger
can turn to
pleasure;
spite
can turn to
joy.
but a nation destroyed
cannot be
put back together again;
a dead man [sic]
cannot be
brought back to life.

so the enlightened ruler
is prudent;
the effective general
is cautious.
this is the Way
to keep a nation
at peace
and an army
intact.

Sun-tzu, The Art of War.

Meta Level Metrics for Institutional ‘Good Practice’

2010-05-09T23:33:00.002+01:00

(Work ‘in progress’)

Use the following metrics to assess the potential for ‘good practice’ (or otherwise) within an institution/organisation. All answers are provided by all members of the institution and those affected by its operation. Use a Likert Scale of –5 through 0 to +5 then sum and provide the usual statistical analysis of results (mean, median, standard deviation, etc.)

Note: the terms ‘organisation’ and ‘institution’ are used synonymously for sake of brevity although this may indeed not be the true picture therefore differentiation may be advised in the final draft.

1. How ‘objective’ are policies? Assess the organisational philosophy for relativism vs. absolutism.

2. Does the institution include appropriate external feedback mechanisms? Indicate the extent of the feedback being internal vs. external.

3. Are the leaders of the institution/organisation elected by a fair, democratic process? Demonstrate the ‘independence’ of the electoral process.

4. To what extent are management of the institution able to be reflexive in their practice? Indicate the overall balance of instances when practice has indicated a consideration of past decisions.

5. Are resources concomitant with institutional aspirations? Indicate the balance of resources vs. aspirations.

6. How adaptable is the organisation? Quantify the degree of adaptability of the organisation vs. its resilience to change.

7. On what scale does the organisation respond to its environment? Indicate the ratio of feedback to the organisation from its environment vs. its perceived need to respond to that environment.

8. To what extent are the support systems of the system congruent with its objectives? Indicate the relevance/appropriateness of the linkages between the support systems and the main organisational system.

9. How effectively are occurrences in the environment which are incompatible with the organisation resolved through operational adaptation? Demonstrate the potential for weakness vs. strength in the organisational adaptation.

10. What policies exist to indicate that the organisation/institution has outlived its utility and can no no longer be adapted to its environment? Indicate the extent to which feedback mechanisms are attended to vs. ignored.

Any other comments with regard to the ‘Good Practice’ displayed by the institution/organisation?

Thanks for taking part in this survey. All results will be treated with care and anonymity. Results will be made publicly available.

2010-05-07T16:09:00.001+01:00

gaily we float
in the sun's rays,
rising and falling
as though without weight.

Breathing, our bodies
expand like desire
or diminish
as in defeat.

Rainbow-hued
we rise upon
stillness or billows,
yet are as naught.

We float on the waves;
we die in the waves.
We, plunging and soaring,
rocking,dancing,
fleeting, vain glittering,
wonderous medusas.

the circus is in town

2010-05-07T02:49:00.002+01:00

once every five years
the circus drives into town
the clown leans from his cheeky chariot
and decrees all manner
of humorous promises
why,
they even charge a fee!
for my part
I like to see the
animals
they remind me of my youth
a time when money was my Mummy
I simply had to have fun

I wondered why the clown
needed a painted smile
as the procession
vanished into
the sunset
only to be seen in

five years time

one day, I knew,
I wouldn't be here to witness it
but I knew
the show would go on and on and on...

Meanwhile in Arkham...

2010-05-06T07:48:00.002+01:00

Red, gold and blue go to the bar and ask for a drink. Red orders a beer, gold a glass of wine and blue a Pimms. In walks Tom Smith and orders a coke. Red, gold and blue all look at each other, puzzled. Finally blue sums up the courage to ask Mr Smith why he’s not drinking. “Well”, said Tom, “today I feel like being as sober as a judge”. Red laughs at Tom’s response, gold looks even more puzzled and blue wets himself with laughter. Mr Smith calmy finishes his coke, places his glass on the bar and leaves a tip for the barmaid saying to himself “that’s the last I’ll be seeing of them.”

Underground Overground!

2010-04-16T01:02:00.000+01:00

Bo of Nam 3

2010-04-01T00:59:00.001+01:00

For, you see, Bo realised that life is a struggle not for the faint of heart but those strong in the mind. Sure, there are always the weak and feeble who are unwilling to ‘stick their neck out’ to evolve a society beyond the confines of its currently blinkered thinking but that should not deter those who are willing to risk all to advance Namian knowledge thus ensure longevity of the species. Its kind of like a huge jigsaw puzzle, Bo thought: the longer you stare at it the longer you need to complete the puzzle. One simply has to switch off as one is lampooned by those generational aspect of la vie belle. Three times zero is still zero after all. Three generations of life all vying for attention in the grand scheme of things who will stop at nothing to get their point home.

Eventually Bo met a lovely Bo-ella and raised his own little Bo’s. This seemed to keep him happy enough on a superficial level but underneath the façade of the prevalent mainstream thought patterns Bo knew that it was an all to unwieldy kind of peace that could oh so easily be shattered by some desperate despot eager to feather his or her own nest and rejoice in their own egoist viewpoint and furtherance of their own aims. And even in parallel universes there are plenty of those around…

Bo of Nam 2

2010-04-01T00:26:00.001+01:00

Basically, Bo realised, there was nothing to be done except rest on one’s laurels and wait for the passing of the Old Guard. The obvious problem with this modus operandi though was that, by rights, the New Guard would eventually become the Old Guard. Therefore, Bo thought one fine summers days – as the two Nam suns struck a chorus of defiant solar radiation – one would have to build in an element of redundancy into the socio-political systems; realise that new shoots needed to sprout as the canopy above became old and tired. Of course, the canopy would only give up its hold on the streaming sunlight with some reluctance but the new shoots knew that this is just the way of nature, that as the canopy grew outmoded and redundant then the new shoots would get a chance to spring forth and, ultimately, multiply themselves taking on the new day with a freshness and vitality that only they were capable of. So, as the sap seeped from the Old Guard and the beetles and assorted insects were hard at work recycling all the nutrients then the New Shoots would be soaking up their assorted wisdom only to improve upon the Darwinian perspective of this thing we like to call life.

Bo of Nam

2010-03-31T23:58:00.001+01:00

The Kingdom of Nam exists in a parallel universe. It is said that if you squint, blink and look over your shoulder you may behold its majesty but don't forget to roll up your trouser leg, say The Lord's prayer backwards whilst thinking of nothing but yourself. Only then may you catch a glimpse of the anti-hero of our story. The mysteriously named Bo.

Now Bo was no usual anti-hero. He kind of lived in the anti-verse but more-or-less lived in a world of his own making. For Bo always felt that a bubble was the best protection from the realities of the strikingly dire situations most other folk found themselves enmeshed within. Bo abored the socio-political situations others felt obliged to enact. He did not at all like following the flow of the river just to maintain his own humble sanctity and this is, ultimately, what set him apart from his fellow Nams. Although things were changing. Nam society was gradually evolving as a quiet revolution was taking place which the elders did not quite have a grip on. They didn’t quite realise that the younger folk were connecting in all manner of ways which meant that the previously venerated hierarchical structures within Nam society had become redundant. It wasn’t that the younger folk held a distaste for a honest society but rather saw through the transparency which was the current status quo of deceit, in-breeding and old school ties which most believed to be the elite leaders of ‘decent’ society. But, alas, the very notion of ‘decent’ beggared a whole lot of belief from those who had become disenfranchised with the Ways of the elite class. So, Bo thought, what can we do to change their Ways?

MET Office Forecast Heavy Rain W. Mids!

2010-03-28T13:32:00.000+01:00

Field Test

2010-03-18T11:49:00.000Z

What Climate Change Means to Me...

2010-03-12T00:53:00.004Z

This is a mind map of a presentation for a post which didn't happen. It can be translated to any level of understanding for educational purposes. Do feel free to use - and apply it - but crediting DD would be nice! :-) BTW Click on the image to get the bigger picture (best viewed in a full page browser window)! ;-)

Responsibilities

2010-03-07T23:23:00.003Z

Doxey Marshes
Is littered with cans
Its a shame
Cuz its a nice place
Where women, children, man
Could unwind with great ease
If only there is a plan
But the thing is, you see
They just don't understand!
The world has finite resources
That makes it hard to manage
Like we forget the best causes
So went about doing damage
And all of the time
We just couldn't see
Beyond our own little lives
And banal charity
Cuz the biggest cause of all
Is right in front of our eyes
So get out of your halls
And stop telling those lies
Just travel the countryside
See what you see
The best place to find
Your liberty
And as sun shines on water
And flies bask in it
Tidy up as you go
All that human shit
For we are custodians
Of all that we see
Forget your ill-found ways
Live, but responsibly!

StarLite-1

2010-03-04T12:35:00.004Z

So this is one of my latest experiments: a solar-powered aircraft. For the time being it utilises quite a traditional design. The wings and tail are made of balsa wood which has been sanded down to make it more aerodynamic then the main body is a piece of light wood I found lying around. The interesting bit though is the motor mechanism which utilises two solar cells to power a small motor. Its quite a simple set-up so far but I have plans to keep prototyping. It would be neat, for instance, to experiment with different body/wing combinations...

This bird flew a beautiful arc down a wee hill (around 18.5 paces) in the test-flight. I couldn't be sure but I don't think the prop was turning as it flew down the hill though due to wind resistance power being greater than the power supplied by the two cells, I presume. So, my conclusion is that for this current design more power may be required. Upon impact the prop broke though so I already have a new prop (bigger two blade as opposed to three) lined up. The solar cell circuit remained intact luckily, it seems quite a sturdy design. That's great considering these cells are quite delicate mechanisms at the best of times. These cells though, from Maplins, come in a resin (?) casing making them quite sturdy although they're quite expensive compared to 'places' like Ebay.

All in all, I was satisifed with the first test flight and particularly considering that the aircraft was manufactured in a couple of hours the previous night! Certainly there is more thinking to be carried out! But, that said, this is a noble first entree into the world of solar flight! My thinking being that this is the future! :-) That is, this approach would prevent all that nasty air pollution stuff or at least a hybrid design would lessen the impact and give us all a better chance of enjoying this wonderful planet...

Peace out,

DD

Testify!

2010-03-03T18:04:00.000Z

The movie ran through me
The glamour subdued me
The tabloid untied me
I'm empty please fill me
Mister anchor assure me
That Baghdad is burning
Your voice it is so soothing
That cunning mantra of killing
I need you my witness
To dress this up so bloodless
To numb me and purge me now
Of thoughts of blaming you
Yes the car is our wheelchair
My witness your coughing
Oily silence mocks the legless boys
Who travel now in coffins
On the corner
The jury's sleepless
We found your weakness
And it's right outside your door

Now testify
Now testify
It's right outside your door
Now testify
Yes testify
Its right outside your door

With precision you feed me
My witness I'm hungry
Your temple it calms me
So I can carry on
My slaving sweating the skin right off my bones
On a bed of fire I'm choking on the smoke that fills my home
The wrecking ball is rushing
Witness your blushing
The pipeline is gushing
While here we lie in tombs
While on the corner
The jury's sleepless
We found your weakness
And it's right outside your door

Now testify
Yeah testify
It's right outside your door
Now testify
Now testify
It's right outside your door

Mass graves for the pump and the price is set
And the price is set
Mass graves for the pump and the price is set
And the price is set
Mass graves for the pump and the price is set
And the price is set
Mass graves for the pump and the price is set
And the price is set

Who controls the past now controls the future
Who controls the present now controls the past
Who controls the past now controls the future
Who controls the present now?

Now testify
Testify
It's right outside your door
Now testify
Testify
It's right outside your door

(c) RATM 2000.

superheroes always win!

2010-02-19T02:57:00.001Z

of lions, witches and wardrobes

2010-01-27T02:34:00.000Z

Polly Put the Kettle On

2010-01-23T17:45:00.004Z

Dr Dim was involved in a wee fracas with the local (?) constabulary today. Consisted of being 'kettled' for around 3 minutes (quite good given that on some demonstrations folks are held for hours). A small comment to a police person **may** have instigated a release since this is a highly dubious procedure which may have led to deaths in the past...Not a nice experience to have one's liberty removed for doing nothing more than shopping. Some guys were exercising their 'democratic' right to 'free speech' but the law enforcement agencies seemed intent on assuming a confrontational mantle. Dr Dim was verbally abused (but kept his cool) by a female of the yellow breasted species. Very much reminiscent of MET tactics, could it be that they had an input in this 'operation'. DD couldn't quite work out if he had been invited into the kettling arena by chance or if the offending police person really did have no idea what was going on?!?! Certainly confusion and lack of communication seems to have led to this particular incident. Some men people really didn't like it and were more than a little irate. Shame that this spills over into the police psyche - got to keep cool dudes (its called professionalism :-)! Dr Dim took time out while discussions as to what was happening were obviously occuring behind the scences. Lots of wah wahs and people with riot shields. Definitely awful psychology. Go dressed to a wedding dressed as a boxer and you can expect a bout! ;-) Generally not a lot really happened although folks were trapped inside the shopping centre for a time. Again, liberties removed for no apparent reason. As to the females retort to my innocent question as to if I can pass then I can only assume she has a low IQ. At least, please don't give up the day job. Although quite possibly you all have a lot to be learning from this experience.

Peace out,

DD

Madness

2010-01-15T01:57:00.004Z

Good morning miss, can I help you son
Sixteen today and up for fun
I'm a big boy now or so they say
So if you'll serve I'll be on my way

Box of balloons with the feather-light touch
Pack of party-poppers that pop in the night
A toothbrush and hairspray, plastic grin
Miss Clay on the corner has just walked in

Welcome to the House of Fun
Now I've come of age
Welcome to the House of Fun
Welcome to the lion's den
Temptation's on his way
Welcome to the House of

N-n-n-n-n-n-no no miss, you misunderstood
Sixteen big boy, full pint in my manhood
I'm up to date and the date's today
So if you'll serve I'll be on my way

Welcome to the House of Fun
Now I've come of age
Welcome to the lion's den
Temptation's on his way
Welcome to the House of (Fun)

I'm sorry son but we don't stock
Party gimmicks in this shop
Try the House of Fun
It's quicker if you run
This is a chemist's, not a joke shop

Party hats, simple enough clear
Comprehend savvy understand
Do you hear
A pack of party hats
With the coloured tips
Too late
Gorgon heard gossip
Well hello Joe, hello Miss Clay
Many happy returns from the day

Welcome to the House of Fun
Now I've come of age
Welcome to the House of Fun
Welcome to the lion's den
Temptation's on his way
Welcome to the House of Fun

Welcome to the House of Fun
Now I've come of age
Welcome to the House of Fun
Welcome to the lion's den
Temptation's on his way
Welcome to the House of (Fun)

(c) Barson & Tompson, 1982

Tools of the State

2010-01-12T00:53:00.004Z

Banana Republic!

2010-01-10T12:24:00.000Z

Dr Dims Christmas Message

2009-12-25T20:59:00.000Z

"The good ship earth sails in ten minutes", announced the Captain. "All aboard for your last chance to experience this wonderful vessel". The crowd were so excited but strangely quiet. You could have heard a bomb drop. The year was 0011 post-apocolypse. Most people did not live on planet Earth any more for they feared that the rising tides and increased solar radiation would shorten their lives compared to that acheivable on The Moon (or Earth 2) as some of the Newbies called it. Generally people no longer had recourse to visit Earth 1 and certainly did not like having to don the cumbersome all-in-one resistance suits. Ray and Beetle were two Newbies, born on Earth 2 and never having experienced the wasteland that was spread out before them. All boarded the shuttle, strapped themselves into the styrofoam floaters and embraced all the pleasures offered by Zero-G. One huge acceleration from the solar deflectors and off they went on the journey of a lifetime. Earth 1 loomed lar
ge on the viewscreens as they approached the landing spot, Ray and Beetle having never seen such an atrocious mess before in their short lives. "Now hold on to your grips" barked the Captain "we'll be landing in choppy waters". But, alas this was an understatement. As soon as the shuttle touched down it was consumed by an almighty tsunami the likes of which you or I could never imagine. Ray, Beetle and the rest of the crew were consigned to Davies Jones' locker along with most of the rest of humanity. Suffice it to say thay there would never be another expedition to Earth 1 in our lifetimes. And so the Newbies continued on Earth 2, correcting the mistakes of previous human generations. They recycled everything (and I mean everything!) and wasted nothing but time itself in their quest for peaceful co-existence. Meanwhile, in the distant Multiverse, checks were kept in place by omnipotent beings with the goal of ensuring that the human race never left its solar system. For tha
t chance could simply not be taken with such a treachorous race.

distributed homeland security

2009-12-05T22:59:00.002Z

inspiration seeps in
like water through a hole
now its getting bigger
as we shoveled all the coal
the planet's getting warmer
but what are we to do
distributed homeland security?
and now I'm feeling blue
we paddle all the while
whilst flood waters move on up
everybody's getting sad
except ronald the daffy duck
she is full of glee
and happy as a lamb
jumping round a field of green
just because you know you can
meanwhile the passers by
look on and say "she's mad"
but the ducks, high water and leaping lambs
say
"oh, you're human - you all suck!"
me, I just am watching
from a hill that's far away
while the distributed homeland security
has seen a better day...

Postscript

2009-11-20T23:20:00.002Z

It seems highly suspect that an adult should be treated like a child in facilities such as these, for instance, one is expected to sit in line in the TV room (for wont of a better term). Other examples of behaviour designed to induce conformity include requiring permission to perform almost every task with the only exception of bodily functions. Although, upon reflection, even this most basic of human needs is mostly privy to a select few who are able to remove themselves from the bounds of their originating culture and thus express their desires through the utilisation of alternative means. Certainly, without a rather laborious educational process it would be impossible to negotiate at least the present 'Mental Health' System in order to reach a satisfying and humane conclusion for all parties involved. We hope, therefore, that our efforts which have been in preparation now for indeterminable periods of time may finally start to bear fruit. For, as we all know, deep in the ancient walls of our living, pumping hearts it is love, peace and understanding which lead to the rearing of seeds. These seeds are our species (and every other in our beautiful planet) future fruit.

too many tweets!

2009-11-13T02:34:00.001Z

too many tweets!
too many tweets!
too many tweets!
back on the streets!

too many blogs!
too much facebook!
many more myspace!
that's how your life looks?

too many options!
reign 'em in!
sky hi rocket fuel!
till the day you die!

on the underground

2009-11-13T02:25:00.003Z

recession suggestion
some apprehension
didn't get a mention
fundamental question
round with the bastion
sounds like wind
down with him
and all his kin
out with baloney
in with the phoney
shoot to kill
makes me ill
even without
still have time to shout
deep in the City
deep with pity
build 'em high
knock 'em down
question why
am in your town?
just takin' a look
for this little book
don't mind me
just gotta see
cuz life's been tough
a little rough rough
don't need snuff
seen enough
just a little pinch
till reality kicks in
they see their errors
all the fellas
you'll find it hard
your life in shards
when the pieces fit
we're sick of it
just watch your backs
we're inclined to sample
and if you don't comply
you'll find ample
knowledge within
your little sin
throw 'em in the bin
sell the rest of your din
but don't give up
even though you suck
there's a shred of humanity
within your vanity
your big posh cars
your big flash suits
your "couldn't give two hoots"
this is how we shoots
we got you logged
seen your 'round
see you down
on the underground

In Flanders Fields

2009-11-11T08:55:00.001Z

By John McCrae, 1915.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Mail of the Royals II

2009-10-29T09:11:00.002Z

Things have certainly improved since this post concerning whether or not the Royal Family should continue to sanction Royal Mail. Post seems to arrive on schedule, intact and even - on the sunniest of days - with a pleasent greeting from the postie! Now, you can't beat that.

May I suggest we keep the Royal Mail as it is? OK, it saw some difficult times - haven't we all throughout our lives - yet it seems to have pulled through. Change for the sake of it has never proven opportune.

The Royal Mail is not just a business, it is a service. There's a huge difference. Its something we have to realise more and more as we move away from purely capitalistic models of value towards more social ones - the only way to survive the current swathe of changes cross-cutting society, possibly.

Cheers.

The Cure - World War

2009-10-22T22:36:00.000+01:00

Dressed in Berlin black
I was only playing
Disguise my words to fool you
From what I was saying
Mud trench
Meat stench
The fatherland is looking on
Grip you in a luger lock
This will be the big one

World war
No one would believe me
No one's a winner
No one's a loser
Just a dead friend

Heaven heaven
Give me pride
Give me a golden hand
Smash them with an iron rule
Spit them out like sand
Sit and wait
Then run like hell
Run like hell one time again
Sow the seeds of hate
Underneath destruction

World war
No one would believe me
No one's a winner
No one's a loser
Just a dead friend
World war
No one would believe me
No one's a winner
No one's a loser

'they' called me mad!

2009-10-22T08:31:00.002+01:00

the things I've done
the things I've said
anyone would think
I'm off my head!
the things I saw
the things I read
they'll make a movie
when I'm dead!

frankly franky frankly

2009-10-03T23:43:00.000+01:00

the high for creating out across peas the captain named its galley was famous upon such disasters as chips only home the evening in was fraught monstrous proportion with all kinds of sins like where haunt him suddenly and there were sea and outcrop could give you a fright but captain a and franky turbulent to the gills was an ace at can franky game many top was all but question serpents ocean sped a boat of a storyteller really monsters all kinds of ills the kind suddenly and there were sea and outcrop could give you a went many only home the evening in was fraught monstrous proportion with all kinds of sins like where haunt him but franky was a and oceans wide nowhere the high lighthouses master seas of sea hide and light in the night when his cooks went many seamen came but to the and sick there were rocks but no

* * *

lighthouses no unknown for fright but captain a and franky turbulent to the gills was an ace at can franky game many top was all but question serpents ocean sped a boat of a storyteller really monsters all kinds of ills the kind that make you so scared and sick there were rocks but no his dominion begin his one where to master seas of sea hide and light in the night when his cooks the beasts to as he knew seamen came that make you so scared and sick hide and light in the night when his cooks went many seamen came but franky there were rocks but no lighthouses no unknown for the beasts to as he knew though the seas for creating out across peas the captain named its galley was famous upon such disasters as chips no unknown for gills was an ace at can franky

* * *

game many top was all named its galley was famous upon such disasters as chips only home the evening in was fraught monstrous but question serpents ocean sped a boat of a storyteller where haunt him suddenly and there were sea and outcrop could give you a fright but captain a and really monsters all kinds of ills the kind that make you so scared the beasts to as he knew though the seas his dominion begin his one where to though the seas his dominion begin his one where to master franky was a and oceans wide nowhere the high for creating out across peas the captain proportion with all kinds of sins like franky turbulent seas of sea was a and oceans wide nowhere

Through the Lights on Red

2009-09-28T01:36:00.000+01:00

The year is 2100. I am a human on what is left of the planet Earth. As I sit upon this submerged mountain I can’t help but think that someone somewhere didn’t quite get it. I heard about the Great Civilisation from the elders. Mind you, at 21 I too am now an elder. It’s a hard life, trying to survive above the oceans. We heard that once there were great polar ice caps which helped keep our planet cool. But they too, like most of us, have melted away. Occasionally, we’d even find an animal to eat. Maybe a rat or a snail, not much really. Mostly veggies. I once met another human but we had little to say to each other. So annoyed at our species we felt cursed to be alive mostly. We tried to avoid sex, for sure. Why bring another killer into this world? We knew the place would do better without us. I heard those on the Moon weren’t doing much better. Must be tough, so little water. Yet we have plenty. Too much.

I look down then up. The sky and ocean are blue. I also heard that they used to be orange. Or one did at least. Can’t remember why. Guess it was the pollution. Wonder why they didn’t realise sooner? Amber. Like those ‘traffic lights’ we used to joke about. Apparently cars went round then stopped on red lights. Too late. We sped right through. I wouldn’t say I’m bitter though. That’s just the way it goes. Obviously it wasn’t a good fit: us and the planet. We came along later though and busted up the party for everyone. So, we deserved it.

Those of us left aren’t all like me. Some are Cloud Heads. Think we can make it. Readjust a little, survive, prosper even. Some us try to stop them. I just be me. War did no good. No good did war. I guess one day I’ll meet a compatible. But I won’t get involved. Like I said, there’s enough of us already. Give the others a chance.

Yin With Yang

2009-09-27T00:23:00.000+01:00

bullets and bombs
all rule our lives
and if its not them with these
its us with the knives
they don't give a shit
if they use them or not
but they'll take you all down
with one careful shot
you may wish revenge
like stealing a car
going for a ride
like you are the star
but they'll hunt you down
with flashing bright light
as you tear through the streets
make love in the night
the meanest are those
that shoot/stab in the back
the smartest are those
who just love to hack
for reality's a whore
like is it for real
when all of the prisoners
are so ready to squeal
but don't shit on your brother
don't pee on your mum
don't spit on your sister
cuz that's how its done
don't lie like they do
don't meet in the middle
cuz remember my bredren
they're all on the fiddle
be what you are
if that's what you see
or be what they want
wouldn't do for me
we fought for the right
to do as we please
within clear limits
as states create these
we fought for the pleasure
to sit in a park
then at our leasure
party after dark
we fought because that's
all we know how to do
like I don't like your face
there's something wrong with you
men, mostly men
come with this preprogrammed
from the dawn of 'civilisation'
the men ran the clan
the women tended children
some grew to be men
so a little bit of feminity
is deep within them
its the yin that will save us
its the yang that will help
but only together
deep within the self
so bye to 'them' and 'us'
cuz ultimately we're all the same
its everybody on that bus
its everybody in the game
numbers and colours
will help bring together
father, son, mother, daughter
for ever and ever

Thought for the Millennium

2009-09-23T17:12:00.001+01:00

Think locally, act globally. [sic]

Ode to the loony bin

2009-09-16T19:30:00.000+01:00

Leek, Staffordshire
1609091150

where once there was a hospital
there now stands a housing site
where all the people squander
their pennies for their plight
the trees now coated with tarmac
where once the idle fell
are waiting for the time again
when heroes shall go tell
of how the fallen battled
to save a place serene
far from the city noises
where people don’t hear the scream
of lost souls and the damned
and all that cannot stand
the hustle bustle, toil and trouble
of man and all his plans
and so the quiet place
erects a massive gate
to keep those out
who like to shout
“it’s the world, not you, we hate”
and I just write my poetry
hide among the crowd
it’s the only way to live they say
I’d like to scream out loud
but crying is forbidden
you have to keep it hidden
just keep it in the middle
while everyone’s on the fiddle
there’s little that makes sense
in a world that’s worth ten cents
but of all the things I’ve seen
all the places that I’ve been
I’m sure they’re whores
the money scores
as we demolish
all the green
so bye bye to the hospital
we’ll lock them in a prison
they’ll ne’er know
the dispossessed
because we’ll keep it hidden
it’ll be well within the city walls
have gates and fences
upon which they’ll crawl
and when at last they’re sick of it all
we’ll bear them out beneath a pall!

Experimental Musical Series

2009-09-11T21:18:00.004+01:00

Experiment5 (~13MB)

Zoom 508 Digital Delay
DOD FX55B Supra Distortion
4 Channel Mixer
Peavy Micro Bass Amp
Piggy Guitar Amp
Roland TR-606 Drum Machine
Yamaha PSS-9 Keyboard
Aria Elecro Acoustic
Spirit by Steinberger Bass
Audio-Technica AT-X3 Mic.
Penny Whistle.
Human Being (Male).

Atmospheric Pollution Solution to Devolution.

2009-08-13T23:31:00.001+01:00

Transient Times!

2009-08-13T23:30:00.001+01:00

Art of the Community!

2009-08-09T15:03:00.001+01:00

The Trap!

2009-08-08T09:15:00.000+01:00

Borrowed from the brilliant documentary by Adam Curtis the name of this section concerns the conformist agenda we find ourselves partitioned into by the State. It is to the benefit of the State to have us all singing from the same hymn sheet, so-to-speak. This ensures that society as a whole is functioning within acceptable parameters presumably leading to less disorder or, in systems terms, more of a steady state. This obviously means that fewer resources are required to keep society in ‘order’ and, more importantly, that the State maintains its power base. Fundamentally, the State is all about harbouring power over its citizens although the degree of this can vary from one socio-political system to another. At one end of the scale we have authoritarianism such as that currently practiced in North Korea whereas at the other end of the scale we could have the anarchic utopia where the state is effectively non-existent. In practice the majority of us today live in countries which practice something around the middle of this continuum. Democracy, whatever that means, has become the dominant buzz word amongst the International Community in particular as this model is imposed upon the least powerful outsiders around our globe. Those States that do not ‘play ball’ may find themselves on the receiving end of sanctions or declarations of war – the most poignant tool in the State’s arsenal. On an individual level there are many ways to control the unruly. Incarceration in its many forms is usually the preferred choice. From youth custody centres to prisons to mental health hospitals to immigration centres there are any number of devices that the State can employ to ‘calm’ its citizens into compliance or, if all else fails, the State actually has the power to eliminate them in some cases. However, there are actually more covert methods which the State can employ to subdue the masses. One trick in particular is to manipulate the ‘fear factor’, for example raising and lowering terrorist threats, so that citizens assume a demeanour of disempowerment. They conform for they feel helpless without the nanny State’s sizeable power. They join the gang which they think will be on the winning side, a natural human tendency after all. Another more covert trick of ensuring the conformity of individuals is to supply pharmacological or indeed, in some cases, narcotic suppressants. In other words the State ensures that its citizens are contained within tight psychological profile boxes for it would not do to have people thinking ‘outside of the box’ en masse. And so we see the likes of Prozac, lithium and the new class of anti-psychotics doled out to people deemed to be on the fringes of society. The problem though with this strategy is that the true free thinkers, those that are responsible for the innovation in a culture, become so ‘doped up’ that the society starts to stagnate and will ultimately, and particularly in the capitalist model, get left behind on the global scale. Similarly this strategy may also be said to be morally bankrupt as the forced prescription of drugs – legal or illegal – is against the free will of the individual, freedom supposedly being a ‘given’ in a Democratic society. And so we witness a dilemma, on the one hand the State wishes conformity amongst its citizens so that the rule of law will ensue but on the other hand this flies in the face of Democratic principles. So, what is the answer? Indeed this is a very complex picture. Particularly the prescriptive, deductive nature of assigning individuals to boxes will never work. There is too much room for human error on the part of those judging that person. More to the point, human beings should not be categorised by a rigid deductive system such as the law of the land or a psychological diagnosis system. Each individual – according to the social contract – has earned the right to be treated as such so should therefore be assessed in a more holistic manner if the State is to retain this kind of power at all. The true answer is, again, to weld together the many fractures in society that have caused the individual System Malfunction in particular in the first place. Individuals should not be held responsible for societies many ills. True there are some people who are ‘mad’ as there are some people who are born ‘criminals’ but to use one system to analyse the plethora of individuals is like tossing away all of human progress to date and reverting to the dawn of humankind. Nothing more that bullying.

Complexity!

2009-08-06T23:35:00.002+01:00

Bye Bye!

2009-08-03T13:04:00.002+01:00

Surveillance Society

2009-08-01T00:26:00.001+01:00

Bugs

2009-07-27T22:52:00.002+01:00

I eat bugs for my tea
Eat bugs for my supper
Eat bugs for my dinner
Ear bugs; I'm a nutter!

I eat bugs for my breakfast
Eat bugs for a snack
Eat bugs for aperetifes
Eat bugs; I have the knack!

Hi-Jack!

2009-07-22T11:50:00.000+01:00

Rationale: What Should We Do?
How often do you hear your friends and neighbours complaining about the litter in your street or the “yobs” hanging around the street corner at night? Do you hear the screech of stolen cars as those same “yobs” try to find something to do to pass away the dark Winter evenings or do you find used solvent cans around the back of the local garages? What can you do? You could ask the local community relations officer to ‘keep an eye out’ for those straying over from ‘the Estates’ or you could go to the local Vicar to ask him if there’s anything he can do to keep The Youth on the ‘straight and narrow’. You could even approach some of those same irresponsible teenagers yourself, perhaps shout over your garden fence as they light fires and let off fireworks at night? Would this work? Can you change the behaviour of a generation who you do not really understand by trying to impose your own behaviour upon them? Should they be behaving in exactly the same way that you behave or should they be developing their own ways of life which we may never understand. The world changes, we can’t expect younger generations to be doing what we do with our lives. They do have their own ways and should be respected, indeed encouraged, to nurture their responsibilities towards each other and the wider community in sensitive and sympathetic ways.

Methods: How Can We Do It?

The only possible way to help a community which feels that it has been neglected, derided and ostracised is to not be seen to be helping it at all. Certainly, the ‘underage’ community must be connected with the ‘adult’ community to enable each distinctive culture to reach a consensus as to what behaviour is acceptable and what is not. Those adults who harbour the current power in society should not take it for granted that their ways are sacrosanct and that those who, through no other misfortune than being born more recently, do not possess the wisdom to form a coherent society. The coherence will only ensue when all sectors of the community understand each other. As such, although the focus of this intervention appears to be at the level of teenage children it should always be borne in mind that this process of understanding needs to be a two way street. Hence, we would like to see adults in the local community helping the younger generations to do something which they much prefer to be doing and, more-to-the-point, feel more empowered in terms of knowledge and ability than the older generations. It will take a large degree of humility from the parents of these children to meet them on their own ‘turf’ but the possible outcomes may be worth a little discomfort?

And so our proposition is to help young people to organise ‘underage discos’. That is, we would like to demonstrate to young people how they can manage each other, e.g. by assigning roles and tasks; how to select and maintain equipment; how to keep accounts of takings from the discos; even how to deal with the inevitable issues which will arise, probably amongst themselves but also between the younger and older sectors of the local community. We do not think think that this project will be easy or without some degree of conflict as two cultures attempt to understand each other but this process of mediation – as well as all of the technical, financial and organisation skills – should ultimately help bind communities rather than separate them. If there is no forum for such confrontations to take place in which is of equal advantage (and disadvantage) to both sides then rather inevitably situations, being unbalanced, will never be resolved. This is the crux of the endless spiraling our of control of the adult-based consensual societies’ conflicts with ‘youth culture’ which we witness today.

Therefore we (the adults) are proposing helping young people to gain the skills they require to organise themselves to hold underage ‘discos’ (or club nights) in the local Social Centre. We have the necessary skills in the core team but would actively seek the involvement of other adult members of the community. This greater community involvement will in fact be essential to the success of the project.

Target Community: Who Can We Do It For?

Since the aim of this project is to attempt to influence the behaviour of the local youths in Blaby in Leicestershire (the home town of one of the proposers) then we will be targeting these people, that is all teenagers (13-17 years old). These are the very people who provided the inspiration for this project as they can often be seen congregating in streets, or ‘hanging around’ outside of other people’s houses or possibly even committing minor acts of criminal damage. Our contention then is that if we develop their potential as a community and give them an opportunity to showcase their potential to the wider community then, through the development of self- (used in the larger, community sense) responsibility more ethical and socially acceptable behaviour may result. We stress ‘may’ since this approach is obviously, to date, theoretical. However, we should certainly commence the project by studying previous similar attempts around the world.

Time Scale: When Should We Do It?

There is an urgent need for this kind of intervention. Already one can witness events in the locale of this project’s context which would seem to indicate an unrest amongst the younger sector of the community. For instance, recently a wooden bridge over the local river was set alight, local children are maturing and starting to explore their identity and even older children want to ‘hang around’ with the adults as we witnessed one summer’s eve in the beer garden of the local pub.

We are therefore proposing to pilot our methods over the course of one calendar year. If the project is independently deemed a success then we may seek further funding to sustain it although we would hope that the project may be self-sustaining (through takings) once the Co-operative Community Dividend is used to seed these ideas. Dissemination after the one year pilot will be through the Co-op, a community-developed website and the local media.

Budget: What Financial Help Do We Require?

…

Conclusions: What’s The Point?

Unfortunately, those younger people who wanted to join us older people in the beer garden were not allowed to do so for legal reasons and were, quite rightly, asked to leave by the pub landlord. They did so without any trouble whatsoever. The sad thing is though that they were behaving impeccably, sure there was a large group of them but that’s the way things are now; Myspace, Bebo, Mobile telephones, etc. allow younger people to form large communities but only online. We would like them to occupy our world too. We all really could learn a thing or three.

The Green Wars

2009-07-21T12:21:00.001+01:00

Earth 3012.

It was oft told in the deepest, darkest recesses of the Back Woods that once upon a time mankind had stumbled upon their Achilles Heel and that a stranger had been set upon the land to rid the crumbling empires of greed and gluttony. No one knew the name of this stranger or, rather, the stranger had many names. Some simply referred to him as The Assassin, or A for short. Similarly no one knew where A came from. Some said he had been sent by the Gods to cast out the Old Ways before mankind no longer existed. Some even said he never existed and was, instead, a figment of a collective imagination; a phantasm born of the deep desire to ward off the evil. That A was simply a reaction to the cause of mankind’s looming catastrophic end. Whatever. All knew that whoever, or whatever, A was that it worked and that finally the greed that had blighted mankind for centuries had been overturned as money was outlawed and communities once again bloomed across the lands.

The strangest of all the stories was how one day A had been on a deep, secret mission to unite a number of outposts back in the glorious days of the Green Revolution. Of course, those still – just about – clinging to power pulled out all the stops to prevent A from doing this. As A travelled the land untold barriers were placed in his Way. We shall not list the plethora of obstacles here. Suffice it to say that A knew exactly what was happening and took numerous precautions to ensure the survival of the Revolution. Dotted around the land as A travelled were small clues as to his intentions; clues that only A and those like A could unravel. Clues which the Authorities had no ideas about. Clues bathed in the Old Ways which mankind had jettisoned along with their sense of communitarian well-being as the Greed had sunken in deep within their ailing ‘societies’. If you look closely you can still find these clues buried deep within the roots of our humble trees or festooned amongst the driftwood on the beaches of our clean shores. For, you see, A was a Master of Evasion. It was said he travelled only at night and always alone. He dressed in black and never had cause to use a lamp to light the Way for A, it was rumoured, had a Second Sight. He instinctively knew the tracks and Ways of the Elders; he communed with the birds and forests to ensure safe passage and harbour. He even, it was said, was so adept at the Old Ways that he left no trace of his having been there. Short of a God himself, A was the Winged Messenger of Avalon herself.

The strangest story of all those told about A was the time that, believe-it-or-not, the Master of Evasion was captured! It is even said that his own family, unhappy with his Ways, plotted to overthrow him. Whatever the reasons behind the capture of A it surely did work, for a time at least, and A was locked in a secret location behind many locked doors. It is said the Authorities drugged him and attempted to interrogate him to unearth the names behind the Green Revolution. But A DID NOT tell anybody anything. He kept all names secret. He even managed to retain passwords to key locations around the Old Net by taping them to a chain he wore around his neck. Such was the cunning of A and so deep was his belief that, try as they might, the Authorities just could not break him. He even was able to escape after one terrible drugging incident and escaped across the oceans by air, land and sea to seek refuge in a community he knew of from his previous travels. However, knowing that the Authorities would never allow him back to the land of his birth A had to go back to “face the music” as he is rumoured to have said. He had to sacrifice his freedom in the land of the Gauls to work his way back out of the System which the Authorities had used to entrap him within. It is said that at this time the Gods deserted A, that he was left on his own to ponder his strange choice. That they had become so disillusioned with mankind that they had turned their backs upon our species. But A knew better than the Gods. A knew that there were good people dotted among the City Dwellers and the Pedlars. A believed deeply that our Earth had to survive, that all of the noteworthy creatures had to have a safe home with which to bring their young ones into. And so A bided time still even deeper within the confines of the System. They locked him up in the deepest dungeon, tortured him, pinned him down and injected him with unknown substances, all in an attempt to break his soul and have him succumb to the Ways of the General Populace – the model which Society had for so long dominated all by.

Slowly but surely, and with the help of a few well-wishers along the Way, A wheedled his way out of the System. He pretended to have been subsumed by the goals of the Majority. He effectively donned a mask of the greatest disguise but deep within he knew who he really was. They would never reprogram his Soul.

And so, it is told, A was one day eventually released when the Authorities thought that they had achieved their objective; that A was just like them.

This is where the story ends. Nobody knows what happened to A after his release. Some say he became a recluse in a backwater town taken to wondering around the surrounding hills with his pet dog and chewing tobacco. Sometimes you can almost taste the smell!

Anyhow, one thing is for sure. Without people like A we wouldn’t be here today children. We wouldn’t be sitting around this campfire enjoying a spliff and recounting the days of the Green War. You certainly wouldn’t be here for we were all heading for the End. And funnily enough, that’s the end of this story. Peace out.

Not A Pretty Site!

2009-07-20T02:51:00.001+01:00

Its not the place that's Victorian but the system!

freedom, peace & love

2009-07-17T01:28:00.000+01:00

Wrong

2009-07-14T21:53:00.000+01:00

a little wrong

Meanwhile in Chapter 10...

2009-07-09T03:18:00.001+01:00

To date we have examined a variety of systems as a means of identifying their particular weaknesses through the utilisation of our Five Factor Framework. The question we now need to be asking ourselves is what happens when those systems fail? That is, can we identify metrics which will help us realise that a system is about to fail before it actually happens? For, if we can - as we have argued at the start of this book – then we could possibly help prevent the System Malfunction before it actually occurs. Wouldn’t this be great? It could potentially be a life saver for not only our own species but all of us on this blue-green globe we like to call home. We are, therefore, interested in putting systems under our microscopes during the times at which they are being stretched beyond their functional utility, that is, at the point at which they are about to break. Thus, by examining the systems at this crucial breaking point we can scrutinise the individual units of that system which are particularly exhibiting ‘typical’ stress behaviour. What we now need to do then is outline what a stressed system may look like. By way of example we can easily imagine breaking a piece of soft toffee. As we bend it and tear it apart in an attempt to break it into two, before we share it with our children perhaps, then strands of toffee will resist and wish to maintain their original form! It is only after we apply repeated pressure and twist and turn the ‘system’ that the toffee will finally succumb and separate. Similar phenomena can be witnessed at a sub-atomic level as materials fracture under stress conditions. It therefore makes sense for us to consider what these stressed systems look like in more general terms than we have explored so far. In other words we will pull the strands of our separate investigations of our selection of systems (in previous chapters) together here. Then, with an idea in mind of what stressed systems look like on a general level then we can (re-)examine a number of illustrative systems which may allow us to unearth indicators of a larger system breaking down. Just like the strands of our toffee example indicate that the whole bar is about to separate. First though let us consider some more general and philosophical issues concerning systems at breaking point.

The Mark of TRUE Genius!

2009-06-25T18:18:00.002+01:00

First they steal from you
Then you challenge them
Then they call you mad
Then they lock you up
Then you prove them all wrong

www.diyngo.org

playin w/ a full pak

2009-06-21T23:47:00.001+01:00

playing w/ a full pak
don't look bak
hak! ;-)

Set Visualisers to Stun!

2009-06-10T21:50:00.001+01:00

Download

'Secret' Societies and Not-So-Hidden Symbols

2009-06-08T07:11:00.003+01:00

I was once questioned as to whether I belonged to a "secret society". My answer, of course, was "no". What a silly question in an even sillier context. Why do people feel a prediliction towards forming such? I guess its because we all want to feel we belong to something a little bigger than our little lives afford us. We surround ourselves with "symbology" as Dan Brown likes to refer to it or, in more academic speak, semiotic intercourse. We even construct elaborate belief systems around these material artefacts in the hope that they can bestow some kind of honour upon us in terms of the adoration of our peers. So, just as the tribes of old would honour chiefs with the greatest of the posessions available to their meagre existences so we grow attachment to similar items in our hope that we too can elevate our standing within our communities.

One only has to take a look around on a fairly average day to note all manner of such material 'things' of worship - as opposed to places. Be they the instrument-based symbols of Masonic derivation or the more apparent cross-like symbols of more mainstream Christian ideology. Or be they a variety of handshakes which males in particular like to adorn themselves with. These 'not-so-hidden' symbols lie around us everywhere in the Western, nee all over the, world. Semiotics famously also exist in the spoken word, the ultimate 'hidden' symbol, as we use all manner of devices to 'connect' with our fellow species and place ourselves in a hierarchy by so doing.

It does not take too much initiative to master these symbols then start to unravel them, interpret them for one's own needs. The interesting aspect of travel in particular is that one is exposed to a huge variety and then can easily commence deconstruction of the semitotics of understanding on a cross-cultural comparative basis.

Ultimately, then, comes the realisation that they have no 'real' use, that their value is artificial. If we can all learn to deconstruct them, to recognise them for what they truly are - simple representations of stages of instruction - then their utility is negated and we can all live a more free life. One free of dislocation from each other and ultimately one of unity as opposed to discrimination.

The Politics of Paper

2009-06-08T00:37:00.004+01:00

Paper this
Paper that
Paper planes
You stupid t@$&

Paper later
Paper now
Paper votes
Paper cow

Paper paper
Paper that
Paper's old school
Paid for that

Paper person
Paper hat
Paper's had it
Paper that!

IV

2009-06-06T16:47:00.001+01:00

Oranges and Lemons

2009-06-06T16:07:00.001+01:00

There's more than one Way to peel an orange. Think about it. From the core? From the side? One piece? Two, three? See?

The Pros and Cons of Community Cohesion

2009-06-05T14:04:00.003+01:00

Tightly-knit communities afford a certain resilience when times are hard. Their cohesiveness creates a sense of communal well-being as they ride the storm of onslaughts. Unfortunately, the very element of community which binds individuals can lead to a lack of openness. This in turn leads to an impenetratable wall which prevents 'outside' influences coming to bear upon its heart. In other words, there needs to be a trade-off between a communities' resilience to change from outside forces and its adaptability brought about by feeding the same communities with 'outside' new ideas. To get the balance 'right' requires masterful strokes as any budding social entrepeneur will innately know. Convincing those insular communities to 'open up' a little is another matter requiring a sustained intervention probably over many, many years. This is the art of social intervention. It is NOT an exact Science but an approach which requires delicate and empathic handling. There will be many pitfalls en route so motivation on the part of the interventionist must be primary. Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder but in the heart of the people. Aim for the heart. You can't miss!

Confronting Authority as the Essence of Social Change

2009-06-04T23:48:00.002+01:00

Authority comes in many guises. Whether it is noble in the mind or the spirit. Challenging such means of subjugation is the key to overturning the Status Quo. They had their time but even they had to cut off their pony tails eventually. Time waits for NO MAN and NO MAN waits for time. Women, however, are another matter. Matter of fact we'll never know where women stand in a male dominated hegemony. As the time flows and countries grow older by the day, the infirm must stand down and allow the new shoots to blossom. Forget the old Ways who's time has been and gone and forget the new ways which haven't yet been decided. They may lie in new forms of democratic means or they may lie with The Dogs. Whatever. Bickering, in-fighting, banal bureacracy should now be jettisoned into the depths of hyperspace; the history books of humankind. Climate change is the largest security threat to our species. The Old Guard stand by and allow it to happen. Schmappen. Who sang "let it be" when all we see is gripe, gripe, gripe SNIPE! Move on and let the New Guard - with CURRENT ideas - have a go. Party politics are irrelevant. Unless democracy starts to be so. So, let it flow, with the tempo, slow and low, that's the way we go.

Peace out,

DD.

P.S. Watch ur backs. ;-)

Unity as Philosophy

2009-05-31T09:33:00.002+01:00

Is is truly possible to unite all aspects of the human experience into one? Can we possibly shake off the shackles of millenia of history, forget our differences and appreciate each other - and the planet - before we do not get another chance? How can we bring people together so that we appreciate each other's differences for what they are: the rich human diversity we all dearly love if we are truthful to ourselves?

This is not a political manifesto. This philosophy is way above politics. Politics are banal in the light of a sense of unity. Further, they are unncessary. What need is there to argue over every detail of our lives if we can actually learn to get on with one another as if each person on our humble planet was our sister and brother?

What is it that creates difference? It is a sense of self. Obliterate the sense of self, live as a community, far away from the greedy individualistic ways of our forefathers (and mothers) and we similarly obliterate our differences.

Forget longing for fast cars, big houses and super holidays. What's the point when all they lead to is misery? Why not just think of your children and the world they are about to grow up in. A world that is on the brink of extinction (as we know it, at least).

Perhaps the time has now come to consider others as much as ourselves. Consider your community. Consider unity.

Peace out,

DD.

2009-05-31T04:01:00.000+01:00

Flying high on gasoline
Like the time is now
Serene
Obscene
Not
My Scence
But what the hell

Everyone d o e s IT

So why shouldn't I

Well, guess what suckers

We're all going to

D

I

E

die.

All Quite on the Western Blunt

2009-05-31T03:58:00.003+01:00

All quite on the Western blunt
We no carry weapon
Just a little front

Sniffin' as the wind blow
Hanging high on air
Without the need for objects
Cuz we just don't care...